Lance gains 14 positions in eventful Las Vegas Grand Prix

Lance Stroll followed up his well-earned top-five finish from the Sao Paulo Grand Prix with another great result at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, F1’s first visit to the entertainment capital of the world in 40 years.

Practice

In an FP1 session that lasted only 10 minutes, Lance completed two installation laps and did not record a time leaving him P16.

FP2 was extended to 90 minutes to compensate for the lost track time and Lance used it to good effect, completing 41 laps and finishing the session in eighth.

In an FP3 session that was red flagged in the final moments, Lance recorded a lap time good enough for P13.

Qualifying

With his final attempt, Lance vaulted to P11 to make his way through to the next stage.  

As the clock ticked down to zero, Stroll moved into P10 but once the rest of the field had crossed the line he was in P14.

WATCH: 2023 LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING HIGHLIGHTS

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Grand Prix

A five-place grid penalty for a yellow flag infringement made Lance’s race all the more difficult before it had even begun.

Starting from P19, Lance’s first lap saw him gain a whopping 10 places, utilising his Soft Pirelli tyres to good effect.

An early Safety Car deployment on Lap 4 saw the Aston Martin F1 Team bring Lance in for a switch to Hard tyres. He re-joined the pack in P15.

From Lap 11, he began overtaking cars ahead at a rate of one per lap. First Sergio Perez, Daniel Ricciardo, then Carlos Sainz.

Once the first rounds of pitstops had been completed, Lance was up to second on the road. Then, on Lap 25, Charles Leclerc on fresh tyres relegated him to third.

The appearance of a second Safety Car was a timely one, allowing Lance to make another pit stop for fresh Hard tyres re-joining in seventh.

At the restart, Lance lost a place to the Williams of Alex Albon on Lap 29 but regained the position seven laps later. Then, on Lap 42, he carved a path past Pierre Gasly for sixth.

A pit stop for the McLaren of Oscar Piastri ahead promoted Lance to fifth and despite George Russell getting past him on the penultimate lap, a post-race penalty for the Mercedes driver ensured Lance finished a hard-fought fifth place.

WATCH: 2023 LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX HIGHLIGHTS

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Lance Stroll – Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One™ Team Driver:

That was a fun race! I gained 10 positions in the first corner with a lot of other drivers going wide, moving up from P19 to P9, so it immediately felt like it was all to play for. From that point, we were on the front foot and attacking throughout the race with a quick car. We made some good strategy calls, pitting under both Safety Cars, and then I was able to pass a few cars into Turn One to secure P5. It was a great track to race at and I’m pleased we were able to put on a good show for the fans.